Review of Cognitive therapy for depressed adolescents.

Reviews the book, Cognitive therapy for depressed adolescents by T.C. R. Wilkes, Gayle Belsher, A. John Rush, and Ellen Frank (see record 1994-98433-000). This book offers chapters on adaption of cognitive therapy for depressed adolescents, ten key principles of adolescent cognitive therapy, diagnosis and assessment, developmental considerations, the therapeutic relationship, family involvement, the initial phase, the middle phase, the final phase, three comorbidity chapters (substance abuse, sexual victimization, suicidal adolescents), hospitalized adolescents, psychopharmacological treatment, and treatment failures. The sequence of chapters makes perfect sense, and despite four senior authors and five co-authors, it is as if one master hand prevails. The writing never wavers—crisp, flowing, and superbly readable. Whenever possible, adolescent and adult therapy of depression are contrasted, and at times, techniques effective or ineffective for early and late adolescents are cited. One might say the current work is a downward extension of the 1979 Beck book, with developmental considerations and family therapy included. This manual motivates me to reread Beck, Burns, Piaget, Bowlby, and the Socratic method series of papers in this Journal (Overholser). Manuals such as this should result in improved supervision. Finally, Drs. Wilkes, Belsher, Rush, Frank, and their associates (Drs. David A. Brent, Graham J. Emslie, Miriam S. Lerner, Anthony Nowels, Warren A. Weinberg) provide this reviewer with one more humility and awe inducing experience. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)